


Foundling Foxes

by Akinasky



Series: SterekBingo 2019 [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Foxes, Kitsune Children, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Pack Parents, Sterek Bingo, Sterek Bingo 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 10:49:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18737524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akinasky/pseuds/Akinasky
Summary: Derek and Stiles found a group of foxes in the Preserve and brought them home after realizing they were shapeshifters stuck in fox form.





	Foundling Foxes

Derek stood in the doorway of his bedroom watching Stiles and their eldest daughter get ready for a walk in the woods. It’s possible they were making it more of a big deal than was necessary but Derek telling them that had yielded nothing but snark and attitude from the pair of them. Denali had her hair in long braids that were only going to end up a snarled mess that they were going to have to tease out after the trip and Stiles was packing enough food for a three-day journey, and that was Derek–-the werewolf’s—opinion.

Denali got finished shoving her snacks into her backpack then spun around, looking for more and Derek tried valiantly not to laugh. She may not have been genetically related to either of them but she was so perfectly their daughter, feisty like Stiles and contemplative like him. It just depended on the day.

Stiles was double checking his pack then moved to the closet to find something, probably a hoodie. It wasn’t freezing or anything but walking in the woods without a couple layers wouldn’t be comfortable without an extra layer or two. Denali in true werewolf child fashion was wearing a sun dress with a little zippered hoodie which stated _‘Dad and Tata’s Little Angel/Devil’ which_ Stiles had specifically made. To complete the outfit, she was wearing flipflops that were easy to remove and small enough to pack. Like Derek, despite her age, Denali had a much higher body temperature which made it easy to keep her warm.

“You guys are going to draw animals with all that food,” he finally said with a grin.

They turned and gave him matching looks of amused disbelief and he smiled widely at them. Then he heard the whimpers coming from the next bedroom and went to get their other child, Charlie, up from his nap. Derek opened the door and watched as Charlie stood up in his crib and he wondered how much longer they could get away with putting him in there.

“Hey buddy, you wanna try the potty and then get ready for a trip in the woods?”

Charlie murmured his assent, he was so quiet most of the time though with Stiles as his Tata, that might change in the long run. They didn’t know who he was going to be like yet, he was still so little.

Though for now, Derek liked that Charlie was quiet after having to deal with Stiles and Denali who were constantly jabbering but sometimes Derek worried that he wasn’t getting his needs met.

His Pediatrician said there was nothing to worry about, so did Noah and Melissa so Derek tried not to stress about it. He reached down and lifted his son and took him over to the toilet and knelt in front of him while Charlie frowned in concentration. Potty training seemed to be slow going but Derek was, again, trying not to worry about it.

After a couple minutes of sitting uncomfortably together, there was a couple of quiet plops and a stream and Derek smiled, praising his son like he’d won the Nobel Prize, helped clean him up and traded his slightly sweaty clothes for a fresh pull-up, some pants and a shirt. They walked back out to the dresser and Derek tugged a sweater and socks out as well as the shoes that he was going to wear.

He made sure that Charlie was ready and went back into the master bedroom, “Come on guys, we don’t need _that_ many snacks, we’re coming back here for dinner after all.”

Denali and Stiles both scoffed in unison so Derek looked at Charlie and rolled his eyes, “Tata and Den are silly, yes they are,” he said in a slightly pitched voice to make Charlie giggle which he did.

Stiles turned, walked over and pressed a kiss to Charlie’s head and Derek’s cheek, “All the wolves in this family are going to be so happy with those snacks after running around in the woods.”

“All two of us?” Denali asked sarcastically.

Charlie looked down like he knew he was different, to be fair he understood that he wasn’t like Daddy and Deni, that he couldn’t use magic to turn into ‘pretty wolves’ as Stiles and Denali liked to refer to them, all of them.

“Just because I don’t turn into a wolf doesn’t mean I can’t eat like one. Right, Charlie?” Stiles asked and tickled their toddler.

Charlie squealed happily and Derek just held his son and smiled as Stiles continued to make funny faces and sounds to keep Charlie laughing. Finally, he handed the boy to his Tata and said, “If we are going to go out running, we are going to have to get moving. You ready to go Lady Wolf?”

Denali slipped the pack on her shoulders and nodded resolutely, trying not to bounce in excitement. “When can I shift?”

“When we get a little way away from the house just in case, we get uninvited visitors. We wouldn’t want them to see you in the buff, right?” Stiles asked, still nuzzling Charlie a little.

Denali nodded and Stiles walked over and rubbed a gentle hand over her hair while holding Charlie on the other hip until he plopped the toddler on the bed and reached for his shoes. He sat down next to their son to don his hiking boots and Derek frowned, “Do not wear those inside when we get back. We just vacuumed all the carpets.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Stiles said and stood up, grabbed his backpack then lifted Charlie and they all turned to walk out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to the front door.

Derek moved to check in the family room where Jackson and Ethan were snuggled on the couch together and Isaac was sitting at their feet, “Hey guys, where are the others?”

“Work,” Jackson answered vaguely.

Most of them had at least part time jobs but Jackson and Ethan tried to always take their days off together and Isaac was their shadow, had been for a long time. “Okay, we’re going to run in the preserve with the kids, be safe and don’t set the house on fire.”

He looked meaningfully at Isaac who groaned, “It was one time! One time!”

“And please, not again,” Derek smirked at his beta who flailed expressively for a second before he headed out the door. Denali was prancing ahead of them into the woods, Stiles right behind her with Charlie on his hip and dressed in another jacket that might have been overkill but Derek wasn’t going to argue with protective Tata especially when he didn’t know what it was like to be human.

Derek jogged a little to catch up and after about fifteen to twenty minutes Denali kicked off her flip flops, pulled off her sundress and shifted just as she was shimmying out of her little princess underpants. Stiles chuckled as he placed Charlie on his wobbly feet so he could pick up all the strewn clothing and tucking them in her discarded backpack.

Derek proudly watched his daughter, now a black wolf shook out her coat and woofed at Stiles and Charlie. The toddler squealed happily at the sight of his Wolf!Sister and reached out for her. Denali moved over to rub up against him. This wasn’t something new, from the time Denali was old enough to shift, she’d been playing with her brother. Some day if and when Charlie is able to shift, it would be wonderful for all of them.

Stiles leaned down and rubbed between Denali’s ears and grinned at her, “You ready for Daddy Wolf to make his appearance?”

Derek smiled as Denali yipped happily and Charlie squealed, making both the werewolves flinch a little but Derek was more than willing to handle the discomfort, knowing that their son didn’t fear him or his sister. That Charlie had a happy childhood and life, like Derek had before Kate and Paige and all the sadness. It meant that he moved passed everything enough to show how Charlie and Denali didn’t need to carry his sadness and regret and that it didn’t need to define him like it used to.

Stiles looked over, “You okay there FrownyWolf?”

Derek nodded and smiled at his partner, his husband and everything else. Stiles was one of the big reasons he’d been able to move beyond the pain and Derek told him as often as possible. “So, you see now this is the badness of both you and Denali packing full bags, now you have to carry both of them.”

Stiles winked, “I’m not worried.”

“Of course not, you ready for a quick show?” Derek asked, waggling his eyebrows a little.

“Heck yes!” Stiles exclaimed. Charlie was busy playing with Denali, sitting on the path. Derek took off his shirt and slipped his sweats off, having decided not to wear boxers because they planned the run the day before. Stiles’s cheeks flushed a little but Derek wasn’t worried about nudity, the kids were raised with casual nudity when shifting and Charlie didn’t wear pants unless he had to. Neither did Stiles actually.

Derek shifted and shook his coat out, just like his daughter did, sometimes shifting, growing the hair even though it was almost a magical and instantaneous thing, left the hair standing at odds and uncomfortable. Stiles picked up his discarded clothes and shoved them into the waiting backpack while Derek moved over to Stiles and rubbed the side of him into Stiles. He laughed, putting the backpack to the side and grabbed Derek in a hug. Derek gave him a quick lick up the side of his face to which Stiles made a face and shoved him off. Derek bounced backwards a little and moved over to Charlie, nuzzling his large head and muzzle into the toddler’s chest who grabbed his ears and jerked a little.

Derek whined at the pain radiating from his ears and Stiles walked over and rubbed his ears while he gentled Charlie’s grip, “Remember we have to be nice to Wolf Daddy and Wolf Sister, we don’t want to hurt them, right?”

Charlie nodded and Derek licked him on the cheek with a little flick of the tongue, tasting the bottle he had before his nap and the body wash, they use and just him. It was weird that he knew what scents and tastes of his children but it was comforting.

Derek stepped back and moved over to Denali’s little wolf body, barely at his chest at head level but she was ready to go. Derek nuzzled her gently before taking off at a slow trot so she could keep up. He could hear Stiles and Charlie behind them, walking slowly along so Charlie could wobble along instead of being carried. Derek let his senses split, to stay with Denali at his side but keep an ear on the other two behind them.

Denali set the pace because she was still such an adolescent wolf cub, it was a strange aspect of werewolfism, that the way a wolf ages matches up with the way humans age even slightly accelerated with werewolves. He would be able to come out running later with the others in beta form, they would be able to push him to the limits. This wasn’t about him running, it was about spending time with his daughter.

Derek kept listening to the Preserve around them and tilted his head at the peculiar sound that caught his attention and woofed at Denali. They shifted direction as he howled a quick warning back to Stiles, he would understand the sign for what it was. They had learned ways to give signs to each other when Derek was a wolf.

Derek followed the sounds, getting close enough to realize it was the sound of fox kits, they were young. He didn’t know what to think about that and this may as well be a good training session for Denali so he nudged her forward and tilted his head, getting her to listen to the world. She caught onto the sounds and hopped ahead, leading them towards the sounds and just as they crested over a ridge, Derek pulled Denali back by the scruff.

There were a group of foxes but two were different. They were young and wobbly. But they also had multiple tails. Derek frowned before he shifted back to human and looked back to see if Stiles was close but it didn’t see him. Having Charlie meant that they were going to take some time to catch up.

Derek shifted back to wolf and shook off his coat again before stepping closer. The other foxes were staring and shivering at the sight of him and though he had no desire to hurt them, he wondered what they might do if he came at them.

The two foxes were foundlings, they didn’t belong to the others but if they were going to fight then Derek had no intention of harming them. There was no reason to do so.

Derek listened to his instincts instead, calling to the part of himself that did what he needed to do when it came to his betas or his children.

So he settled down and growled Denali down next to him who laid down and flailed over on her side so he could rub her belly with his nose. She was so young; Denali didn’t have the control to keep from showing her belly so he just nudged her and she sat up a little to watch the foxes.

Derek watched too, listening as Stiles got closer one step at a time and though they were far away enough that he couldn’t hear what Stiles was saying, so Derek had a little more time.

He didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t the two special kits to catch sight of him and suddenly start crawling and wobbling towards him. Derek moved to open his legs for them to crawl into and that’s how Stiles and Charlie found them ten minutes later.

“Derek?” Stiles asked, confused.

Derek looked around to lock gazes with his husband and his eyes dropped to see the two kits in between his forelegs and tucked up against his chest and smiled a little.

“What have I said about taking in strays?” Stiles murmured with a smile.

Derek huffed, making Charlie giggle. Stiles and Charlie sat down on a nearby log to wait, they broke out the snacks and Denali got to her feet and walked away and started begging, just like a dog. Derek kept his attention on the kits in his wolf embrace instead of the display his daughter was making for snacks at the moment.

A couple minutes later, Denali must have changed back because she was demanding her clothes and snacks. She shared with her brother while the kits slept through their foster family finally realized that Derek wasn’t going to kill them and they left. Derek wasn’t going to worry about the kits being left alone because they were taking them back to the house.

Another hour later, Stiles, Charlie and Denali ate their way through all the snack and Denali was whining about more food so Derek stood up and watched as the kits sleepily stared at him. They were really too young to be by themselves. He shifted back to his human form, watching the kits as they watched him.

Derek dressed quickly then leaned down, “I am going to take you somewhere safe; you don’t have to fear me. You are going to be safe. I promise.”

He reached out and let them sniff him before he lifted them both into his arms and took the towel that Stiles offered and he wrapped them in it loosely but together. They settled in his arms, chittering a little but they weren’t upset so much as just communicating something. Derek looked over at Stiles who was watching him.

“Kitsunes?” he asked.

Derek nodded, “I think so. I don’t know what happened and I’m guessing we never will. They aren’t even old enough to know.”

“How are they shifted?” Stiles asked as he nudged Denali and Charlie back towards the house.

“From what I remember about kitsunes, some of them are capable of shifting back and forth from birth, because they are born in fox form. It might take us a lot of time before they return to human form.”

“Well I hope they do soon, I wouldn’t mind meeting our new children.”

Derek looked over at Stiles and smiled, “You mean it?”

Stiles snorted, “Like I was going to say no. They were here in our Preserve, they came to you, they recognized and they felt safe enough to come into your arms. I think that’s enough for me. Though do kitsunes abandon their young a lot?”

Derek shrugged and they walked for a little while in silence. “Are you going to look into it?” he asked.

“I am,” Stiles said.

Derek nodded back; he could leave the inquiries with Stiles then. Even though he wasn’t born into the supernatural world, Stiles was more than capable of finding his way through it. Though he was still struggling with contacts because his name had been spread with lies and embellishments during his time as the Nogitsune and the self-defensive death of the chimera, most of the ‘McCall pack’ had some bad press and Peter, his manipulative uncle, loved to pit Stiles up against those people.

Stiles was going to move past it, they were all going to get through the bad press of the past and they were going to continue to become the Hale Pack that Beacon Hills had once had.

Two kitsunes were just going to add to the collective and Derek and Stiles had plenty of love to go around if they truly had nowhere to go.

Derek didn’t know how they were going to let them go if there was someone waiting for them.

It took them more than an hour to get back to the house, about halfway there, Charlie started whining, wanting to be picked up so Derek passed the kits over to Stiles who only gave a minute noise of complaint before settling down then he turned and picked Charlie up while Denali pranced in front of them on the path. She was still full of energy so he wasn’t worried about her getting testy but after all the energy of wandering in the woods, Derek wasn’t surprised that Charlie had had enough.

By the time they were back in the yard near the house, Jackson and Isaac were by the back door waiting nervously. They must’ve sensed something through the pack bonds and were worried. Derek smiled at them, giving them a little reassurance but Denali distracted them with her happy squeals. Isaac grinned down at her and lifted her when she came near enough while Jackson came close enough to take Charlie who was making grabby hands at his uncle. Derek was unsurprised really, by the depths of caring that lay buried under the surface hatred and self-loathing. He adored the pack kids and had designs on making some for his little family, something Jackson had told him in confidence but he was keeping it to himself. Not even Stiles knew those little secrets that his pack members shared with him.

“What do you have there?” Jackson asked Stiles.

“Apparently two kitsunes,” Stiles said, “Derek found them in the Preserve and we brought them here. They were barely on their feet when he found them.”

Jackson nodded, “I’ll let the others know, but first I am going to get these little wolfies something to eat. Does that sound good, Charlie?”

Charlie squealed his agreement and Jackson walked back into the house together while Stiles followed and they moved into the foyer. Derek pushed Stiles into a chair while he was holding the kits and removed his slightly muddy shoes so they could stay outside until they dry. Next he took off his own shoes and tucked Denali’s flipflops out of the way so no one would trip over them, someday he was going to have to stop cleaning up after her and let her learn how to be responsible about them but since she was such a good ‘older sister’ he would let it slide especially when it was quite possibly Isaac’s fault to begin with. Isaac might be a grown up but sometimes it seemed like he was going through a belated childhood period now that he was safe and cared for.

With Stiles divested of his dirty shoes he headed into the downstairs bathroom so Derek followed him with a frown. “Why are you bringing them in here?”

“Get them cleaned up and maybe make sure that we aren’t inviting tics into our house full of werewolves. I don’t really want to know if they will get onto you or Deni.”

Derek nodded; it was a good plan. He pulled some extra towels out of the closet and helped Stiles clean them in the sink, since they still had everything for when they were bathing Charlie in the sinks it was a lot simpler and though the kits screamed like they were being killed it wasn’t long before they were settled on the couch with the kits in their lap. Ethan, Jackson and Isaac were sitting around the room with Denali and Charlie all watching with barely contained curiosity but Stiles said no touching so no one was touching.

They seemed so small, too small to have actually survived out there long enough to find the other foxes which left Derek wondering if he had dead kitsunes in his forest somewhere but for now he was going to stay close to the kits as well as his family. He could put the betas on extra patrols when everyone came back from various work locations.

“Are you going to make some calls?” Jackson asked.

Stiles nodded, “I will look into why kitsunes were on our property as well as if there is anyone who may be missing them. I don’t know what they would be doing here unless they were possibly seeking asylum with the Hale Pack, it’s not uncommon for someone to seek us out.”

“Especially if Kira sent them in this direction,” Isaac responded and Stiles nodded like he’d thought of that already because of course he did. He was Stiles. There was a reason why Derek trusted him to help make decisions because he was usually thinking of ten different things while Derek was just staying focused on keeping the pack safe. It made them a good team, even if they weren’t married or together.

“Kira is going to be my first call and I already sent her and her mother a group message to get in touch with me as soon as possible. I think Kira is out of town at the moment, Scott has been all antsy about it. She might be doing more desert training and seen as how she dumped his ass the last time, she went out there, he is understandably concerned.”

“Well if he doesn’t sleep with anyone while she’s gone, I think they’re going to be just fine,” Jackson snarked and Stiles grinned.

Derek listened as the kits continued to chitter and bark and rubbed his hands over them gently over and over, just giving them some attention and maybe also scent marking them. It was hard not to, when he’d been kind of feeling the desire to grow their family again. Stiles wanted to wait until Charlie was a little older before they started looking again but these kitsunes were exactly what he was hoping to find, someone like Denali; someone who needed them not just another child.

Ethan cleared his throat, “Did you want us to get dinner started since you guys seemed to be the only ones touching the kits at the moment.”

Derek smiled, “I would appreciate that, expect the normal crowd tonight.”

Stiles looked up, “I think Lydia was planning on coming over for dinner too. Should I call and ask her to raincheck?”

Derek shook his head, “There is nothing here we need to hide from her unless you think that she can’t keep this to herself. Scott can be loud mouthed sometimes and I don’t want to put the kits in danger.”

Stiles snorted, “You don’t know Lydia Martin sometimes, she _loves_ keeping secrets, especially from her ‘Alpha’.”

Derek shrugged and chuckled, “So be it, for now let’s just keep this in the family until we figure out what’s going on here. Kira is family of course so that’s not a problem, just make sure to tell anyone to keep it to themselves for now.”

Ethan nodded and dragged Jackson out by his collar, which in turn brought Charlie out of his kit watching stasis and started wobble walking after Uncle Jackson.

“Charlie is following you?” Derek called after them.

“We got him,” Ethan responded just as Charlie started giggling again and Stiles shook his head with a fond smile on his face.

“We should move them into our room and maybe give them a little time together to rest. Do we have something we could use to contain them?”

Derek thought about that, he didn’t like the idea of keeping them caged but letting them stumble all over the house could possibly just get them hurt. They would have to figure something out for now. “How about we get through dinner and bath time with the midgets and then we can figure things out from there?” he asked Stiles.

Stiles nodded and went back to rubbing between the kits’ toes and behind their ears, listening to them grumble contently at the attention. Derek took one of them, the female if the Google video had been correct, and held her up to his face. She looked into his eyes, shivering but holding his gaze. She was a stubborn little thing.

Stiles meeped a little and Derek looked over at his husband who was shifting uncomfortably and Derek scented urine on the air. He wrinkled his nose and moved to help Stiles to his feet, taking the male kit as well before going back to the back door and putting them down on the grass. They were going to need something like a litter box and how the hell were they going to litterbox train a couple of kitsunes? Was it going to seem degrading for them later? He didn’t really know. Werewolves, even born ones, don’t shift until maybe about 18 months to about three years. Charlie hadn’t shown any wolf tendencies but Derek had been kind of late on that, while Denali was flashing her eyes at like 11 months. Every wolf was different but clearly, he didn’t know enough about kitsunes. He didn’t think that Kira knew anything about growing up able to shift either, she hadn’t known about her heritage until she came to Beacon Hills, a bad idea for any supernatural creature, but it hadn’t been up to him. Since she’d been closed off to it, or because her father was a human, maybe everything had been a little different. She didn’t even learn she could shift into the nine tailed fox until her time in the desert.

Stiles went upstairs to clean off while the kits did the rest of their business in the grass under Derek’s watchful eye. Denali came out and sat down next to him on the steps and waited for a moment, “Is this going to be like Charlie, but like times two?”

“What?” Derek asked, turning a little too he could look at his daughter. Leaning over to pull her closer and in werewolf fashion, she burrowed into his warmth and scent marked his shirt a little with her face and hair.  

“Like I can tell they aren’t just foxes, they are like you and me, if you take them in are you going to have enough love and time for me and for Charlie?”

Derek frowned. Denali was so strong, sometimes he let himself forget that she came to them as an orphan desperate for someone to love and accept her. She needed them and she still did. Sometimes her vivacious nature overshadowed the sadness she carried with her in the beginning. Denali, as far as anyone at the orphanage to tell, was discarded in the trash basically. No one knew why or where she came from but she had been old enough to have trauma. It was more like a feeling, but the older she got the more questions she asked and though Derek and Stiles decided to tell her certain things they had never hidden the fact that she’d been given to them by another set of parents. She was old enough now and again to wonder if they hadn’t loved her enough.

Derek tightened his hold on her for a moment, pressing a gentle kiss to her head, “I grew up in a big family and my mother told me something that I think she would want me to tell you now. Do you want to know?”

Denali nodded.

Derek imagine his mother, both of them sitting on the couch in her office which was kept there specifically for little wolfies who wanted to be close and take a nap or sit reading while she worked or for her to just sit with them. “She told me that in the world there were things that ran out like food and space and money even but there was one thing that grew very big very fast when we gave it to others and that’s love. I know that sometimes Tata and I are not going to time everything well, maybe you are going to have times where you have less attention from Tata and I but it won’t be because we love you any less.”

Denali nodded, “Maybe Grandpa will have more time for me then.”

Derek snorted, of course she would figure out some way around this new possibly draw on her parents. He appreciated her bravery and tenacity; she was one of the more precious gifts he’d ever been given.

“Hey,” Stiles said from the doorway behind them and Derek could tell he’d been there a couple minutes at least, sometimes in the walls of his own home Derek allowed his senses to stay out of hyperdrive and through Stiles could never really scare or startle Derek, it was nice that he was able to trust his pack and his mate at his back.

Derek nudged Denali and she walked over to give her Tata a big hug while Derek retrieved the kits from the grass. With nothing else to work with, Stiles took one of the laundry hampers and laid out a couple towels in the bottom of it and settled the kits inside to rest, they fell asleep pretty immediately and Stiles glared at everyone until they all agreed to leave them alone.

When the other three betas got home from their work, they all came in with confused looks and wrinkled noses until they saw the basket that was sitting between Derek and Stiles’s feet at the table. Rita, Manda and Aiden were all really good betas and despite the fact that Derek seemed destined to have people in his pack that he didn’t bite, they accepted him readily and let him train with them. When Stiles and Derek moved home and claimed Satomi’s land, they came with instead of looking for opportunities in other places. With training in the FBI meant a lot of fieldwork and traveling but a couple of them were always in town. Since Jackson, Ethan and Isaac were completely moved back, Derek was rarely worried about an empty pack house or unprotected lands, plus with the McCall pack in the vicinity, people attempted not to cause trouble in town anymore.

When the doorbell rang, Jackson was already there and letting Lydia inside with a huge hug. Ethan followed at a sedate pace, giving her a kiss on the cheek while Isaac and the others waved shyly at her.

“Hey Lyds, look what Derek adopted in the woods.”

Derek rolled his eyes at that as Lydia walked in and pressed a kiss to Stiles’s cheek and then grabbed quick hugs from Denali, Derek and Charlie before looking down at the sleeping kits.

“Interesting, we don’t get infant kitsunes in the area hardly ever and I’ve never seen one without a protective parent or two. What happened?”

“We don’t know,” Stiles said as Lydia moved to sit down at the table and they all started serving up their dishes. Someone served Derek and Stiles first, Jackson snarled about Denali and Charlie getting enough before the other betas could get any food but finally relinquished the food.

“We are going to be making some inquiries, one of which is Kira and you know how she is sometimes because of Scott. We were hoping you would keep it to yourself for a little while,” Derek finished and took a bite of his food, nodding to the betas in acceptance of the dish. It was good. Cooking was a shared duty in a werewolf household but pleasing one’s alpha was still heavily ingrained even though he didn’t act on it hardly ever.

Lydia waved off his concerns, “Of course I can keep it to myself, honestly, I am barely a part of Scott’s pack, now that he has the others to keep him centered. I’m not a werewolf so I don’t need to belong to one or the other so I choose to go where I like.”

“You would be like that if you were a werewolf,” Jackson responded with his signature snort then he winked at his ex-girlfriend and she tittered.

“True, but I can play nice with the packs.”

“When you want to,” Stiles grinned.

“Did I come just to be roasted or am I here to enjoy dinner with my friends?” she asked.

Stiles waved his hands, “Sorry, Lyds, I’ll stop. I can’t make any promises about Jackson though.”

“Neither can my alpha so there’s that, stay at your own risk,” Jackson winked again.

Ethan leaned forward and touched Jackson’s arm, “Honey I think you may have a twitch; we should go speak to Deaton about that sometime soon.”

Jackson’s mouth opened in surprise of the sassy boyfriend comeback while everyone laughed.

Dinner wound down after another hour, Stiles and Derek got through bath time with the kits still napping in the basket and put Denali and Charlie to bed before they headed to their room and decided to put the basket in the tub of their ensuite and hope for the best.

“We are going to need stuff and things for them,” Stiles said vaguely before he brushed his teeth, used the toilet and washed his hands. He headed back into the bedroom to change for bed while Derek stood watching the sleeping kits and acted like he was brushing his teeth.

Derek felt when Stiles rejoined him, wrapping his arms around Derek’s stomach and linking his fingers together lightly. He pressed a gently kiss into the back of Derek’s shoulder and pressed his chin into Derek’s shoulder, “They are going to be fine here.”

Derek nodded, spitting out the paste and rinsing his mouth before they returned to the bedroom together and Stiles climbed into the bed while Derek got changed. He was never really a sleep naked kind of guy just because he’d been so worried about having to fight or run in the middle of the night. There had been a brief honeymoon period with Stiles where they were basically naked all the time when the other pack members were around but then they had kids and those days came to an end.

Stiles settled onto his back and gestured to Derek who pressed into his side. He used to think this was so weird, Stiles and him were the same height but Derek had always thought that being the ‘big spoon' was some manly alpha thing but the first time Stiles held him and let him just cling to him had been one of the freest moments of their early relationship. Now, somehow and someway, Stiles always knew when he needed it.

“Are you worried about what Denali said?” Stiles whispered against Derek’s forehead.

He nuzzled into Stiles’s lips and breathe a little and shrugged, “Maybe a little. I just apparently forgot that she does remember some of the trauma from the beginning of her life and she just is worried.”

“Older siblings worry about that kind of thing, it’s normal. I’m sure you even felt it when Cora was born.”

Derek sighed, he didn’t really remember much about when Cora was born, maybe because he didn’t really want to most days but Stiles had a point. “It’s not just that for her though, she was abandoned as a baby and I don’t want her to think that if these kits are here to stay then she and Charlie are still going to have all the love and attention they need.”

“Der,” Stiles smiled against his head, “When there are more children, time is going to be an interesting thing to figure out but I know we made jokes about it in the Preserve but we are a bit off from making finalized plans about them staying here. I need to spend the next 24 hours on my computer and the phone before we can start thinking long term. So maybe for tonight and tomorrow, just help the kits and let the pack step in a little and shower Denali and Charlie with some love.”

Derek smiled into Stiles’s chest, “She also decided that she apparently needs more time with Grandpa.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Stiles responded, “Sleep now, okay?”

Derek nodded, “Okay. I love you Stiles.”

“I love you too,” Stiles returned and they fell silent. Derek allowed the familiar sound of Stiles’s heartbeat, the sounds of their children sleeping and the sounds from each of the pack mates in the house. It was good.

 

The next two weeks seem to blur by for Derek; taking care of the kits, learning how to litter train them and help them find their feet. Soon they were running around the house. Noah came by a couple extra evenings so Denali would have her Grandpa time and Charlie soaked up the love from everyone around him. Derek realized that Stiles was right, they worked through the time constraints and changed a couple things.

Finally it was pack night and they were all settling in for dinner when Stiles cleared his throat and placed a folder filled to the brim with paperwork and started, “As far as anyone in the network can tell, the kits had a parent but they were killed farther out into the Preserve, maybe just far enough away that we weren’t able to see or find anything. Anyway, the kits were protected by the fox family they were with and ended up here. I think if we can ever get them to shift to human form, we can use Dad’s help to adopt them so I guess we are all going to have to get used to having them here. Kira is on her way back and apparently she and Scott are fighting again, like what the hell, anyway she is going to come here and try and help us with them for a spot on our couch.”

“I don’t see an issue there, she sleeps on our couch half the year, we really should build an extension and offer the poor girl a room for when she and Scott are doing their ‘off again’ part of the relationship.”

Stiles leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Derek’s lips, “Thank god we aren’t like that.”

There were a couple titters from the betas to which Stiles glared at each of them for a few seconds before they sobered. “You have a problem with our great love affair?”

Jackson snorted, “You aren’t like Kira and Scott because you two are so disgustingly in love with each other that you went to couple’s counseling before you were a couple.”

Stiles winked, “True story.”

Everyone laughed and Derek dug into the rest of his meal, making sure the kits had enough food before sending them off to play or beg, which ever they preferred.

The next day Derek and Stiles were sitting together on the top step of the porch while Charlie and Denali played with the kits when it happened the first time. The female plopped down on her butt and made Denali tumble over her head in an effort not to crush the small fox and while Derek was rushing over to check on his daughter, there was a grumbling groan and then a keening cry and he looked over in surprise at the naked baby girl sitting in the grass. She had black hair and fair skin and she was screaming her discomfort, bringing everyone in the house to see what all the racket was.

“It’s really a baby,” Jackson gasped.

“Did you think we were making it up?” Stiles snorted.

“Little bit, yeah,” Jackson responded so Stiles punched him in the shoulder before grabbing a towel while Derek settled next to the naked little baby, lifting her out of the grass and into the towel to swaddle her. It was hard to figure out her actual age since kitsunes, like shifters don’t always _look_ their human age but since she wasn’t crawling around, he would have said about eight months or something. Stiles bundled her inside to find her some clothes, murmuring gently to her while Derek helped Denali to her feet, lifted the male kit into his arms and led the rest of the pack inside. Thankfully they kept everything from when Denali came to them, it may be a little large on the little baby girl but it would be just fine.

Stiles was already on the phone, telling his dad that his newest granddaughter had finally made an appearance and the man declared that he was on the way over and don’t let her turn back.

“How would I stop her exactly?” Stiles asked a dial tone since Noah already hung up.

She wasn’t crying anymore and Stiles grinned as he walked over to Derek, “We’re going to have to start thinking of names but Derek Hale, here is your newest daughter.”

Derek’s hands shook a little as he took the bundled child into his arms and she immediately snuggled into him, making Stiles and the girls coo at him while he rolled his eyes at them.

The male kit started crying so Stiles leaned in and pulled him close so he could see his sister. Derek watched as the kitsune and baby girl reached out for each other. The girl touched the kit’s nose and before they could even imagine anything else was going to happen, the male kit was changing while Stiles stared at it in horror though thanks to his fatherhood training, he didn’t drop the kit. After a couple moment s of grunting and whining, some of which was coming from Stiles, he was holding a baby boy and quickly sent Denali to get another towel.

“And this is your new son,” Derek responded and Stiles looked at him with a smile.

They decided on Eden and Rafferty Hale, they were welcomed by the pack with aplomb and Auntie Kira was delighted at the thought of being able to help her new nephew and niece with their abilities.

They never did learn what they saw or remembered of their deceased parent or the fox family but when they had quiet moments and clinging messes, Stiles and Derek were patient and loving. And a little at a time, they settled into their new home.

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments, please if you feel you need to correct something at least add something you liked about the fic too.


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